Trail 345 is about 15 miles long. Extending from Baldy Mountain on the east to Big Hole Peak on the west, it follows the crest of a small divide called different names in various places: Loneman Divide, Weeksville Divide or, on old maps, Buffalo Bill Divide. These photos were taken on June 16, 2017 in the rain along Loneman Divide, about 5 miles east of those in the previous post and a thousand feet lower in elevation.

I think Buster loves the back country every bit as much as I do and I enjoy seeing his responses. In one of the photos he was pretty excited because he had just flushed a grouse from right in front of him.

The trails are gorgeous this time of year, especially on rainy days, although you do get pretty wet from the brush.
When the dog that I had for 10 years died last summer, I found this guy at a Humane Society up in Kalispell and it was love at first sight for both of us. We make each others’ lives much happier.

I suspect that there are patches of nutrients in the soil (such as the remains of a tree that has decomposed) that allow the plants to do well there. I know that’s true of several species within the forest. But I know so little of what goes into the specific ecosystem. Yes, it is a wonderful time to be in the forest! I will spend all of the time I can there now until winter.

I have been rediscovering an old trail that runs for about 15 miles between Baldy Mountain and Big Hole Peak. For about 5 of those miles it goes through Weyerhäuser (the old Plum Creek) land that has been ravaged by logging and there it has been hard to find the remains of the trail. The grasses and small brush is regenerating though and the wildflowers are already staging a nice comeback and the large wildlife have moved back in (bear, elk and moose). It is getting pretty again, although without what used to be beautiful forest. At least they did leave some of the large trees and left a few of the ridge tops alone. Because there are so many wildflower species along that old trail I plan to spend quite a bit more time there.